The Eldritch Files

Han Su was genuinely taken aback.

He even took a closer look to confirm that this was the same Living Copper Puppet he had seen in the secret chamber.

This... one of the thirty-two most dangerous weapons in the world, a Divine Weapon...

They just fucking put it right in the lobby?

Did the master of Dingxiang Mansion go mad after the Mechanical Fragment was stolen and just decide to move this thing up here?

Aren’t you worried some brat might accidentally bump into it?

”Mr. Han Su, this way, please.”

Just then, someone opened the private elevator, and a well-dressed attendant came down from the club. He smiled, stepped aside, and invited Han Su into the elevator.

No matter how much he wanted to keep staring, Han Su could only tear his gaze away and follow him into the elevator. It went straight to the third floor, opening into a spacious area. A bar stood near the entrance, surrounded by tables that were both artistic and comfortable.

The sound of a record player filled the air, its soft music drifting through the space.

A few people were seated here and there.

Most of them had a case by their side. The few who didn’t, judging by their demeanor, were also likely involved in the Mysterious Circle.

When they saw Han Su enter, many people gave him friendly looks. Some even raised their glasses to him from a distance. Han Su recognized several familiar faces from the base and felt a great deal of goodwill from them.

However, a quick scan of the room revealed the Lady in the Red Windbreaker, seated by the wall on the west side of the club.

She merely glanced at him before looking away, her expression blank.

Beside her sat a short-haired girl with her head bowed—it was Miss Crow.

Across from Miss Crow sat another girl with flaxen-colored hair, dressed sharply, with a bright smile.

This was the person who caught Han Su’s attention the most.

He had seen her with the Lady in the Red Windbreaker during the Crystal Skull incident.

She was Sparrow!

...

...

’Good, everyone’s here...’

Han Su nodded silently to himself, walked in, and sat down at an empty table, placing his briefcase on the floor.

He looked at the empty tabletop, which held only a scented candle, and felt a little disappointed. ”So this is the welcome party? I thought there’d be a dozen or two tables...”

Just then, a voice suddenly spoke up. ”Investigators are people too. We need a place to rest. Otherwise, dealing with those damn things every day, the pressure would be too much. We’d go crazy.”

”Besides, we need to talk about our experiences and share what we’ve learned from fighting these things. The Disaster Management Bureau’s rules are too rigid. You even have to file an application just to read someone else’s anomaly report. It’s much freer to just chat amongst ourselves.”

Han Su turned to see the Drunkard Investigator’s hazy, intoxicated eyes and his enormous Wine Barrel Nose. He was holding a dented flask and swayed, stumbling into the seat across from Han Su.

”So, we found a place like this at Dingxiang Mansion. Here, we can talk freely about matters in the Mysterious Circle without it being considered a leak.”

”Those rich kids come here sometimes, but they all gather on the second floor. The third floor isn’t open to them.”

”...”

Han Su turned to the Drunkard Investigator, maintaining a polite smile. ”I thought veterans like you wouldn’t care about leaks anymore. I heard someone was teaching those rich kids a thing or two here at Dingxiang Mansion.”

”That was you, wasn’t it?”

”...”

”Everything I do has been tacitly approved.”

Wine Barrel Nose met Han Su’s gaze and smiled. ”The Disaster Management Bureau was founded single-handedly by Secretary No. 5. And to establish something like the Bureau, you naturally need supporters, but you also need those who would keep it in check.”

”The ones who supported the Bureau’s creation were, of course, the Hidden School. They’re an organization that has existed for countless years longer than the Bureau.”

”As for keeping it in check, who do you think is qualified to keep an eye on the Disaster Management Bureau?”

”...”

’The Ancient Nobles?’

He had already learned of this group’s existence through his conversation with Black Rose.

Since joining the Disaster Management Bureau and encountering so many things, he had vaguely guessed that there was a complex web of cause-and-effect and checks-and-balances between the Bureau, the Hidden School, and the Ancient Nobles.

This Drunkard Investigator was trying to use this topic as a lead-in to discuss secrets of the Mysterious Circle with him. Whether he was just showing off or had some deeper meaning, Han Su couldn’t be bothered to play along.

Seeing Han Su’s silence, Wine Barrel Nose smiled and continued, ”The Disaster Management Bureau, at the end of the day, is just an organization for grunts. There’s no need to glorify it. If you want to live well, what’s more important is knowing who you’re ultimately serving.”

Han Su just watched him coolly, then suddenly spoke.

”You say everything you do is tacitly approved. Was my being attacked by D7 approved too?”

”...”

Hearing this question, a grave expression flickered across Wine Barrel Nose’s face. Meeting Han Su’s gaze, he seemed to sober up a little. ”I’ve heard about the D7 attack on you,” he said in a low voice.

”But in my opinion, perhaps those people didn’t really want to hurt you. Maybe it was a warning, or a lesson. Even if you hadn’t shown your current level of strength, you could have easily avoided letting those three D7 members get close if you had just been a little more careful...”

”To be honest, you were a bit careless during the mission.”

He said it as if it were a guess, but his voice was full of desperate justification.

Han Su almost wanted to laugh as he listened. Funnily enough, the guy was actually right.

At the time, facing those three from D7, he had deliberately created an opportunity for them—or rather, an opportunity for himself and Pot Lid Head to meet. That was what led to the attack.

Theoretically, if he had been careful from start to finish and followed the Disaster Management Bureau’s rules, those three from D7 never would have gotten near him. At most, he would have just sensed their malice and let his imagination run wild.

’And what would have happened then? I’d have felt scared, forced to tiptoe around the Disaster Management Bureau?’

”This is how I’ve always done things,” Han Su said.

”The attack has already happened. And I hear some pervert from D7 has come to hate my guts.”

”Yes...”

The Drunkard Investigator’s brow furrowed as he listened. ”He is indeed an unexpectedly troublesome guy...”

”But he’s in D7, after all. It’s not so easy for him to get out. There will be a way to solve this.”

”...”

As he spoke, he lightly snapped his fingers and said to the attendant, ”Bring him a cup of Nile red tea.”

”Red tea?”

His voice wasn’t loud, but a subtle commotion stirred around them.

Countless people sneakily glanced their way, including the Lady in the Red Windbreaker, who was sitting by the window and whispering something to Sparrow. The candles on the small tables flickered gently.

The red tea was quickly served. Han Su looked down at the cup of blood-red liquid. Something like dried tree bark floated within it.

The color was so deep it seemed suffocating.

Just looking at the tea made him feel slightly dizzy. He instinctively let a trace of his Spiritual Power seep out to stop the dizzying sensation. When he took a deep sniff, all he could smell was a rich, sweet fragrance.

Wine Barrel Nose chuckled lazily. ”Go on, try it. It’s good for you.”

Han Su was curious. ”This doesn’t look like tea leaves.”

”Of course not. The tea leaves have already been filtered out.”

Wine Barrel Nose looked at the cup as if he’d heard a funny joke and explained, ”What’s in there is a type of mummy, excavated from some ruins left over from the radiation era on the Southern Continent’s Bulong Plateau.”

”These mummies belong to a race that underwent some kind of mutation before disappearing into the river of history. They contain mysterious properties that we can’t Understand, and it’s said they will one day reawaken.”

”Grinding them into a powder allows us to better enhance our Spiritual Activity, and even comprehend the Life Code.”

”...”

”Huh?”

Because Han Su was already hostile, he wouldn’t have been surprised by anything these people did.

But now, hearing Wine Barrel Nose’s words, his scalp tingled. ”You... you hide in here eating corpses?”

”Isn’t that disgusting?”

”Don’t say such laughable, amateurish things.”

Wine Barrel Nose just waved his hand helplessly. ”You just need to know that the benefits this cup of tea will bring to your Spiritual Activity are far beyond your imagination. If you can drink it regularly, it’s only a matter of time before you set foot in a Divine Forbidden Area.”

’So this is their secret to rapidly increasing Spiritual Activity?’

Han Su looked at the man’s matter-of-fact expression and noticed the envious glances many people shot at the tea. Realization finally dawned on him.

No wonder someone like Zhang Chiguo, who was transferred down from above, had so much less prestige than the four lead investigators.

Leaving aside so-called connections, foundations, and represented interests, just in terms of Spiritual Activity alone, the four lead investigators actually held an advantage that the Disaster Management Bureau simply couldn’t match.

’Eating mummies to enhance Spiritual Activity?’

Wine Barrel Nose didn’t seem surprised by Han Su’s expression at all. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. He said slowly, ”If you want to go further, Spiritual Activity is always the main theme. Compared to the Disaster Management Bureau’s crude surgical modifications, we have many more options.”

”Meditation, Spiritual Massage, hypnosis... there are countless methods to help you improve your Spiritual Activity, no fewer than what the Mysterious Organizations have.”

”Even the scented candle on this table is a mystical item that can soothe the spirit.”

”Most importantly, we have enough experience to avoid contamination and won’t lose our self-will like the Mysterious Sects do. So, you can see how important it is to have your own people looking out for you.”

”...”

”So this is the Hidden School?”

Listening to him, Han Su vaguely understood. ’This method of consuming mummies to activate Spiritual Activity must have been passed down from this Hidden School.’

He lifted the teacup, and the tea’s fragrance wafted up to his nose. But knowing what was steeping inside, he couldn’t help but think he smelled a hint of rot. After just one sniff, he set the cup down, much to the envy of the others watching.

He smiled. ”Something this good can’t possibly be free. Just state your terms.”

”You want me to drop the kidnapping case, is that it?”